TOpClass Class 4 Perineal Crohn's Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Perineal Wound Complication After Proctectomy in Crohn's Patients.

Background: Nonhealing perineal wounds have been reported to be common after proctectomy for Crohn's disease (CD). We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of perineal wound healing after proctectomy for CD and assessed the risk factors for nonhealing.

Methods: A comprehensive literature search was conducted in PubMed, Embase, and Scopus databases from 2010 to 2023, and articles reporting perineal wound healing rates after proctectomy for CD were included. Data on study characteristics and proportion of healed wounds, and risk factors, were extracted. Random-effects meta-analysis was performed to estimate the pooled proportion and 95% CIs using the "meta" package in R. Heterogeneity was assessed using the I2 statistic.

Results: We identified 501 articles, of which 252 remained after de-duplication. After screening, 4 retrospective cohort studies involving 333 patients were included. Across the 4 studies, the pooled proportion of completely healed perineal wounds at 6 months was 65% (95% CI 52%-80%), and 70% (95% CI 60%-83%) at 12 months. Significant heterogeneity was found between studies (I2 = 86% at 6 months). Three studies examined risk factors for impaired healing after proctectomy. One study identified preoperative perineal sepsis as the only independent factor associated with impaired healing (P = .001) on multivariable analysis. In 1 study, male sex, shorter time from diversion to proctectomy, and higher preoperative C-reactive protein levels were all associated with delayed healing in univariate analysis. Another study found that close rectal dissection was associated with significantly lower healing rates than total mesorectal excision (P = .01). Prior use of tumor necrosis factor inhibitors was not associated with wound healing outcomes.

Conclusions: This meta-analysis revealed complete perineal healing in only 70% of patients 12 months after proctectomy for CD. This highlights knowledge gaps, including the identification of modifiable risk factors and methods for preventing or as rescue therapy, such as vacuum-assisted closure and flap reconstruction, for nonhealing perineal wounds after proctectomy for CD. Poor perineal wound healing outcomes are likely related to imperfectly understood underlying inflammatory dysregulation and systemically impaired wound healing in patients with CD.